Adeniyi Ologunleko
2 January 2009
opinion
Since the 15th Century European exploration of West Africa till date, the sub-region has not known true peace and prosperity.
The Europeans looted (and are still looting!) our treasures, enslaved (and are still enslaving!) our people and committed (and are still committing!) several unprintable atrocities. Up till now, the golden throne of the King of the Ashantes in Ghana has not been returned.
Instead of Europe to show genuine repentance and be contented with the resources God has given them, they continue to invent newer ways to steal from Africa. It appears that, in spite of all their acclaimed wisdom and learning, this shameless Europe just can't find a way to prosper without stealing from Africa. They must steal our oil, our gold, our bauxite, our cocoa, our people and everything that can be stolen.
Certainly, God will someday deliver us from France, Germany, Norway, Finland, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium but we don't know when and how yet.
The main thrust of this article is, however, not on Europe but on China. This wild Dragon has tasted and discovered that Africa is really sumptuous. Of course, there must be something special in a continent that has endured Europe's plunder for 600 years and is still breathing. The slavery and suffering of the Jews in the hands of Egypt's Pharaoh for 430 years that used to be the world record has now been shattered. China is not going to sit by and watch this great feast from the sidelines. There is an old adage that asks a rhetorical question that if you don't plunder a foolish man's treasures, is it the wise man's own that you will plunder? With 1.4 billion mouths to feed and an economic system that is founded on an outdated ideology, China must join the party quickly and Africa is where it's happening big.
But China is one country that will never be a signatory to original thinking. In fact, dragons are, by nature, not thinking creatures but copying ones. And having perfected the art of copying technology and information, there is nothing else that can't be stolen - not even governments! Why not just steal the Presidencies, Senates and Judiciaries of African countries and you beat the Europeans to their own game. With a highly suppressive and secretive government that accounts to no one, China definitely has an advantage. It's a case of a great dancer who meets a world class drummer. Let the concert begin.
Enter the Dragon - the latest colonial master - ravaging Africa from Sudan through Nigeria to Angola, trailing the aroma of oil.
Using the same old trick that has been working for the Europeans for over 600 years, China puts on the mask of a friend. Why change a winning formula, especially when you don't have the capacity for original thinking? Suddenly, our "friends" from the left have seen our suffering and are eager to do something about it. Moreover, the time is now - speed is critical and delay is dangerous. Oh, what a timely intervention! If this is not love, then what is it? This love can only be compared in breadth and depth to the love that the British have for the people of Zimbabwe? A love that did not see Mugabe as a tyrant since 1980 until the 2000's when he decided to take back his people's land from the white occupiers. A love that is killing millions of Zimbabwean children and driving their adults out as refugees just to kick Mugabe out and put a British puppet in government. If Britain thinks she is cunning, China is ready to prove that she speaks the language even more fluently. Love is the name of the game, friendship is the mask, land and oil constitute the price. The die is cast - who is more ferocious?
In spite of the empty noise and deception of the last two decades however, the rulers of China secretly knew that their house is built on a sandy foundation. It was only a matter of time before the long-awaited collapse. But they were determined to hang on till the last drop of blood.
China had the opportunity to provide sound education to her citizens so that they can compete at the thinking level with the West. This is a long, narrow road that would have delivered enduring national prosperity. In the "wisdom" of their rulers however, they chose the easy and broad path of stealing information and data, then cloning every western invention. Today, "China" has replaced "Taiwan" in the English dictionary as the synonym for "fake". They hack into every website of significance, connect remotely to the computers of visiting US businessmen and government officials and 'copy' the designs of technological inventions. For a while, the rest of the Third World praised them because of the resulting short-term successes.
The recent financial meltdown was the last stroke that broke the dragon's jaws and sent it to the grave - where a cozy apartment had been reserved for it since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
With unemployment rising in US and Europe, the production plants that were outsourced to China are now being brought back. If, in spite of the great boom of the last three decades, China is still a Third World economy, we can only wonder what rating it will get in the next decade.
You cannot build a national economy by copying. It is simply not sustainable. You can never rise higher than the nation you're stealing from (and Europe should listen to this too). The dragon has been sowing the wind, now is the time to start reaping the whirlwind. The next decade is heavily pregnant.
Now that the old dragon is finally dying, the news must be kept top secret. The Chinese believe that the Dragon, like Samson of old, can still slay more in its death than it did when alive. Again, they must go and offer monkeys to the "Munguns" of Africa. The only difference is that, this time, they will be much more ruthless.
In Nigeria, for example, the furious arms of the dying Dragon are visibly at work: Billions of dollars for the railway project; where are the trains? Billions of dollars for a communications satellite; where is it now? Billions of dollars to establish a local handset factory (ZTE); where are the phones? Billions of dollars for rural telephony project; where is it?
Yet refusal of visa to genuine Nigerian businessmen and disrespect for the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives still obtains.
We need not go very far at all, the answer is nearer than our breath. China has nothing good to offer Nigeria and the rest of Africa. As we cry to God to deliver us from the iron yoke of Europe, we must take responsibility for throwing away the burden of this dying Dragon.
May God have mercy on Nigeria and hear the cries of her people. Amen.
Ologunleko is a Business Growth Consultant, Plot 272/273, Central Area, Abuja.
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